In a “best of times/worst of times” year (and really — every year feels that way to somebody, somewhere), Chicago’s theater offerings continued to provide a cultural balm for troubled times. Here are six of the best shows I saw onstage this year, with a few honorable mentions.
“The Hairy Ape” by Oracle Theatre in February: In a year when discussions of the “angry white working-class man” took on a fever pitch after the election of Donald Trump, Eugene O’Neill’s one-act still would have felt timely. But by casting his production entirely with African-American men, director Monty Cole effectively flipped the script for the age of Black Lives Matter. His Yank (a febrile Julian Parker), the swaggering steamship stoker who finds himself out of place and out of hope on dry land, at times had cruder echoes of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.” Breon Arzell’s percussive and muscular choreography added a physical vocabulary for left-behind men whose existential frustrations defy verbal articulation.
Up next: After briefly moving into the old Signal Ensemble space when that company closed earlier this year, Oracle announced this month that it too is folding up operations. One hopes that we’ll see more of its artists — and its free “public access” ticketing model — on Chicago stages in the years ahead.
“Dry Land” by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in April: No company in town does as good a job at exploring the lives of teenage girls as Rivendell, but it outdid itself with “Dry Land.” Ruby Rae Spiegel — who was only 21 when she wrote this play — unfurls the trajectory of an unlikely and fraught friendship between a pregnant Florida high school student and the nerdy newcomer on the swim team she enlists to help her with a “DIY” abortion with sensitivity, wit and an unflinchingly honest ear for how girls talk to each other. This isn’t an “issues” play — it’s a play about girls with issues, and director Hallie Gordon’s pitch-perfect staging and the lead performances by Bryce Gangel and Jessica Ervin landed in the solar plexus.
Up next: “Winter” by Julie Jensen, Jan. 7 to Feb. 11; www.rivendelltheatre.org.
“Once in a Lifetime” by Strawdog Theatre Company in May: Strawdog said goodbye to its longtime — albeit low-ceilinged — home on North Broadway (a strip that with the shuttering of Profiles, Mary-Arrchie and Oracle is now bereft of storefront operations) with this sparkling and inventive revival of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s stuffed-to-the-rafters homage to the early age of Hollywood “talkies.” Director Damon Kiely’s zippy staging, in which 12 actors played nearly 40 speaking parts — took some anachronistic liberties by interpolating musical numbers such as Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” (and appropriately, Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”). In a year of grim headlines, Strawdog (which is now bunking with Factory Theater on Howard Street) celebrated resilience and reinvention.
Up next: “Cymbeline,” Jan. 13 to Feb. 25; www.strawdog.org More Top Picks Best Wide Toe Box Shoes For Women Uk
“Next to Normal” by BoHo Theatre in August: Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical about loss and mental illness got a lovely and aching intimate staging with BoHo under Linda Fortunato’s sensitive direction. Colette Todd found the ruminative and wry aspects of troubled wife and mother Diana, while Ciera Dawn as Natalie, her tightly-wound daughter, revealed the raw wounds caused by life with a parent who is never fully there. This was that rare production that left me in tears even as it made me think deeply about the ways we find to grieve.
Up next: “Urinetown: The Musical,” Feb. 4 to March 26; www.bohotheatre.com.
“Octagon” by Jackalope Theatre in October: Opening just a couple of weeks before the election, Kristiana Rae Colon’s word-drunk portrait of the made-in-Chicago world of the poetry slam seethed with its own brand of defiant politics — personal and cultural. The show premiered in London in 2015, but Jackalope brought it home in director Tara Branham’s sometimes messy but never boring staging. Its themes — individual glory versus collective good, swaggering male bravado confronted by women who won’t apologize for claiming their space, and our short attention span for particular incidences of social injustice — feel even more relevant postelection.
Up next: “The Snare,” by Samantha Beach, Feb. 22 to April 1; www.jackalopetheatre.org.
“Pygmalion” by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company in December: George Bernard Shaw’s gender politics come through loud and clear in Remy Bumppo’s staging. But by giving the story a memory-play framework, Shawn Douglass also asks us to consider how even the most difficult and — yes — sexist mentors might still provide a road map to a life we wouldn’t have otherwise considered, even if we have to leave them in the rearview mirror to take that journey. Nick Sandys’ Henry Higgins and Kelsey Brennan’s Eliza bring spark and fire to their performances, lighting up new corners of the world of this beloved classic.
Up next: “Pygmalion” continues through Jan. 8 at the Greenhouse Theater. “Born Yesterday” by Garson Kanin runs March 22 to April 30; www.remybumppo.org.
Honorable mentions: “The Life of Galileo” by Remy Bumppo; “Distance” by Strawdog Theatre; “A Loss of Roses” by Raven Theatre; “Mike Mother” by the Neo-Futurists; “Miss Holmes” by Lifeline Theatre; “Rutherford’s Travels” by Pegasus Theatre.
Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.
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